Japan’s ruling party heads to run-off in election to decide country’s next

Japan’s ruling party election has entered a run-off between economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba to decide the presumptive next leader of the nation.

The two candidates secured the most votes in a poll earlier Friday, but failed to win a simple majority amid a crowded field. The contest had featured a record nine candidates and now will result in either Japan’s first female premier or see a seasoned politician finally assume the post.

Outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had thrown the Liberal Democratic Party for a loop when he announced in August that he would not be running for its top office, effectively ending his three-year term. 

The winner of the LDP poll is expected to be approved as prime minister in a vote by parliament on Oct. 1 and will inherit a government marked by a corruption scandal and an economy in transition. The party has a majority in both chambers of the legislature, effectively ensuring its chief becomes the next prime minister.

Polls had suggested that the favorites in the election included ex-environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi alongside Takaichi and Ishiba. However, the politician, who was vying to be Japan’s youngest ever prime minister, was unable to secure enough votes to advance to the next round.

Ishiba, 67, is running for the post for a fifth time and has endorsed the Bank of Japan’s policy of steadily raising interest rates and voiced concerns about depreciation of the yen. He has also called for the establishment of an Asian NATO to deter threats from China and North Korea.

Takaichi, 63, was one of two women in the race and has argued that Japan’s economy needs more fiscal stimulus and to strengthen in fields including diplomacy and defense. Unlike Ishiba, she has warned against the BOJ raising interest rates further.

Japan’s new leader will have to steer the country through a precarious economic and political period.

Challenges facing the country include its transition from three decades of stagnation, mounting diplomatic and security challenges posed by China and a potential second Trump term in the U.S., and a demographic crisis as the country rapidly ages.